Gunn, Neil M.
Whisky & Scotland

Souvenir Press, ISBN 0-285-62289-7, GBP 6.95, First Published 1935, 197 Pages, 20 x 12,5 cm, Paperback

Whisky and Scotland is at once a celebration of that uisge-beatha, or water of life, that sacred distillation from the grain, whose secret was handed down by their wise Celtic ancestors to enliven and enlighten the Gaels; and a lament for ancient skills and ancient rituals defiled by the conquerors, who first transformed the 'drink made in a man's home' into an 'affair of public manufacture', then saw in it a source of tax and revenue for foreign coffers, and banned the pot stills from Highland homes altogether.

Neil M. Gunn in this witty, indignant little book tells what is known of the history of whisky, describes its making and maturing, and instructs the drinker on how to distinguish a good pot-still from a patent blend. 'A single whisky', he assured his readers more than fifty years ago, 'can still be got by those genuinely concerned to find it', and he lists some of the great names to delight lovers of 'the real stuff'. Most of these names can still be searched out today.

Whisky and Scotland is a book for lovers of good whisky, and for lovers of a Gaelic way of living and being which is not yet beyond recall.

NEIL M. GUNN was born in 1891, the son of a fishing boat skipper and owner from Dunbeath in Caithness. He spent part of his boyhood in Galloway, where he was educated privately, and worked in the Excise Service until 1937. From then until his death in January 1973, he lived in the Highlands and devoted himself to writing.